The World Champions India Keep Dethroning: A Remarkable BWF World Championships Trend
From PV Sindhu to Ayush Shetty, Indian shuttlers have repeatedly defeated defending world champions at the BWF World Championships — and gone on to win medals.
There is something remarkable about India's record at the BWF World Championships.
Across the last decade and a half, Indian shuttlers have repeatedly produced one of the most difficult results in badminton, defeating the reigning world champion on the biggest stage. And remarkably, these victories have often become the turning point in campaigns that ended with India standing on the podium.
From PV Sindhu's breakthrough victory over Wang Yihan in 2013 to Ayush Shetty's stunning defeat of defending champion Shi Yuqi in 2026, the pattern has continued across generations, disciplines and playing styles. The latest chapter came at the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi, where 21-year-old Ayush Shetty produced one of the biggest upsets of his young career by defeating China's Shi Yuqi in the opening round.
The significance of these victories goes beyond the names involved. They represent India's growing ability to challenge the very best when the pressure is at its highest.
Sindhu started the trend in 2013
The first major chapter came at the 2013 World Championships in Guangzhou. An 18-year-old PV Sindhu faced China's Wang Yihan in the Round of 16. Wang was not only one of the leading players in the women's singles field but also the defending world champion.
Sindhu delivered a statement performance, defeating Wang 21-18, 23-21 in straight games. The victory was followed by another crucial win over China's Wang Shixian in the quarterfinals. Sindhu eventually reached the semifinals and secured a bronze medal India's first women's singles medal at the World Championships.
The victory over Wang Yihan therefore became more than a memorable upset. It was the beginning of India's modern era of World Championships success.
Sindhu returned to the same equation at the 2018 World Championships in Nanjing. This time, the defending champion standing across the net was Japan's Nozomi Okuhara. The match carried additional significance because Okuhara had defeated Sindhu in the epic 2017 World Championship final in Glasgow. That final had lasted 110 minutes and gone down as one of the greatest women's singles matches in tournament history.
A year later, Sindhu turned the tables. In the 2018 quarterfinal, she defeated Okuhara 21-17, 21-19 in 58 minutes. The victory guaranteed Sindhu another World Championships medal. She went on to defeat Akane Yamaguchi in the semifinals before finishing with a silver medal.
Once again, defeating the reigning champion became a defining moment of an Indian medal campaign.
Satwik and Chirag broke new ground in 2022
The trend was not restricted to women's singles. At the 2022 World Championships in Tokyo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced defending champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the quarterfinals. The Japanese pair entered the contest as the second seeds and had home conditions on their side.
India's seventh-seeded combination, however, produced a high-quality performance to win 24-22, 15-21, and 21-14. The victory was historic. Before the 2022 edition, no Indian men's doubles pair had reached a World Championships semifinal. By defeating the reigning champions, Satwik and Chirag crossed that barrier and secured India's first men's doubles World Championships medal.
They would leave Tokyo with bronze.
Then came HS Prannoy in 2023. Playing at the 2023 World Championships in Copenhagen, Prannoy faced Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the quarterfinal. Axelsen was the defending champion, the world No. 1 and the overwhelming favourite on home soil. Prannoy lost the opening game 13-21 but changed the complexion of the contest. Rather than trying to match Axelsen's power, he relied on defensive resilience, patient rallies and precise placement to expose weaknesses in the Dane's movement.
Prannoy eventually completed a stunning comeback, winning 13-21, 21-15, 21-16. The victory secured his maiden World Championships medal.
Once again, the defending champion had been eliminated by an Indian player, and once again, India was guaranteed a place on the podium.
The latest name on the list is Ayush Shetty. At the 2026 World Championships in New Delhi, the 21-year-old Indian was handed perhaps the toughest possible opening-round assignment: China's Shi Yuqi, the defending world champion and world No. 1. Just four months earlier, Shi had beaten Shetty comfortably in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships. The rematch produced a completely different story.
Shetty won the opening game 21-14. Shi responded by taking the second 21-13, setting up a tense decider. The Indian raced to a 17-6 lead, but the world No. 1 fought back dramatically to make it 20-19. Shetty held his nerve and closed out the contest 21-19. He had eliminated the defending world champion in the Round of 64.
The victory was historic in another sense: according to the supplied analysis, Shi became the first defending men's singles champion in the modern World Championships era to lose in the opening round.
The medal connection is what makes the pattern special.
There is an important distinction between these victories. Sindhu's 2013 win came in the Round of 16, so she still had to win her quarterfinal to guarantee a medal. But her victories over Okuhara in 2018, Hoki/Kobayashi in 2022 and Axelsen in 2023 all came in the quarterfinals. At the World Championships, there is no bronze-medal playoff. Reaching the semifinals automatically guarantees a medal.
That means those three quarterfinal victories over defending champions directly secured podium finishes for India.
Ayush's 2026 victory is different. He has eliminated the defending champion, but because the upset came in the Round of 64, the medal is not yet guaranteed. He still needs to win three more knockout rounds, the Round of 32, Round of 16 and quarterfinal, to cross the semifinal threshold.
Yet the historical parallel remains striking.
2013: Sindhu def Wang Yihan | Bronze.
2018: Sindhu def Nozomi Okuhara | Silver.
2022: Satwik/Chirag def Hoki/Kobayashi | Bronze.
2023: Prannoy def Viktor Axelsen | Bronze.
2026: Ayush def Shi Yuqi | and the story is still being written.
India has repeatedly shown that the defending world champion is not an unbeatable barrier. In fact, across recent editions, taking down the reigning champion has often been the moment that has opened the door to a medal. For Ayush Shetty, that history now provides both inspiration and responsibility.
He has already done the hardest thing; he has dethroned the champion. Now, just like those before him, he will be hoping that the biggest upset of his World Championships campaign becomes the first step towards another Indian medal.
Credit Navin On X
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